Gema369 KJV Bible: Matthew 21

1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

*When they got close to Jerusalem, near a place called Bethphage by the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of his followers.

2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

*"Go to the nearby town and immediately you'll find a donkey and a young donkey together tied up. Untie them and bring them to me."

3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

*If someone tells you anything, just say, "The Lord needs them." Then, they will be sent right away.

4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

*This happened to fulfill what the prophet said would happen.

5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

*Tell the people of Jerusalem, Your King is coming to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and a young donkey's offspring.

6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

*The followers obeyed Jesus' instructions and went to do what he told them.

7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

*And he got the donkey and the young donkey, then put their clothes on them, and they made him sit on them.

8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

*A large crowd spread out their clothes on the road. Some people also cut branches from trees and scattered them on the road.

9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

*The large groups ahead and behind shouted, "Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

*When he arrived in Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this person?"

11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

*The crowd said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

*Jesus entered the God's temple and drove out everyone who was selling and buying there. He also destroyed the moneychangers' tables and the seats of those selling pigeons.

13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

*He told them, "It's written that my place will be known as a praying spot. But you changed it into a hideout for robbers."

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

*The blind and crippled people went to him at the temple, and he made them able to see and walk again.

15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

*When the main religious leaders saw Jesus doing amazing things and children in the temple shouting "Hosanna to the son of David," they became very upset.

16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

*He asked him if he could hear what they were saying. Jesus replied that yes, he had heard it and asked if he hadn't known the saying, "Even infants and babies can perfectly praise you?"

17 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

*He went away from them, exited the city, and stayed in Bethany.

18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

*In the morning, after going back to the city, he felt hungry.

19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

*When Jesus saw a fig tree without any fruit, he spoke to it, saying it should never produce fruit again. Immediately, the tree dried up.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

*And when the disciples saw it, they were amazed, asking, "How quickly did the fig tree dry up?"

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

*Jesus said, "If you truly believe and don't doubt, you can do more than what was done to the fig tree. You can even tell a mountain to move and throw it into the sea, and it will happen."

22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

*Ask in prayer, believing, and you will receive whatever you ask for.

23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

*When he entered the temple, the main priests and important people approached him while he was teaching and asked, "By what permission do you do these actions? And who gave you this permission?"

24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

*Jesus asked them, "I'll tell you why I do these things if you tell me about the authority behind your questions."

25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

*The John's baptism origin, was it from heaven or people? They debated among themselves, thinking, If we say it's from heaven, he will ask why didn't you believe him?

26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

*But if we say it's about people, we are afraid of what they think because everyone considers John to be a prophet.

27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

*They replied to Jesus, saying, "We don't know." He then told them, "I won't tell you either why I am doing these actions."

28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

*But what do you think? A father had two children; he went to the first one and said, Child, work today in my grape garden.

29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

*He said no at first, but later regretted it and went.

30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

*Then he went to the next person and said the same thing. The person replied, "Yes, I will," but didn't actually go.

31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

*Which one of them followed their father's wishes? They said it was the first one. Jesus replied, "I assure you, the tax collectors and sex workers will enter the kingdom of heaven before you."

32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

*John taught righteousness, but you didn't believe him. Publicans and prostitutes did. Even after seeing this, you still didn't change your mind to believe him.

33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

*"Listen to another story: A homeowner planted a vineyard, put up a fence around it, dug a place for pressing grapes, built a tower, and rented it to farmers. Then the owner went to a distant land."

34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

*When fruit-time came, he had his helpers go to the farmers to get the fruits.

35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

*The farmers attacked the master's helpers, hitting one, killing another, and throwing stones at another.

36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

*Again, he sent additional helpers more than the first group; and they also treated them the same way.

37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

*But finally, he sent his son to them, saying, "They will respect my son."

38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

*But when the farmers saw the son, they whispered, He's the heir! Let's kill him and take his inheritance.

39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

*They grabbed him, kicked him out of the grape garden, and killed him.

40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

*When the lord of the vineyard arrives, what will he do to the caretakers?

41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

*They tell him, "He will severely punish the bad people and give the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruit when it's ready."

42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

*Jesus asks them, "Did you never read in the writings, 'The stone that builders didn't want, now it's the main cornerstone.' This shows God's work, and it's amazing to see.

43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

*So I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who produce its fruits.

44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

*Whoever falls onto this stone will be hurt badly. But whoever the stone falls on will be turned into fine dust.

45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

*When the main religious leaders heard Jesus' stories, they realized he was talking about them.

46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

*But when they tried to touch him, they were scared of the big group of people, because they thought he was a special person who talked with God.

Matthew

Chapter 21